Ol' Pops Says, Check it out.

If you gentlemen have been catching HBO's Game of Thrones, you've been treated to the very cool and memorable work of Peter Dinklage. He plays one of the princes of one of the royal families, but they don't like to acknowledge him. His father is ashamed of him because of his achondroplasia - he suffers from dwarfism. He's amazingly good, though; his acting on the premium series earned him every inch of his Best Supporting Emmy.

Anyway, The Station Agent (2003) came on Starz the other morning, and Cin tuned it in because she saw Dinklage in it. (Your Uncle Tom and I discussed him is passing last June. He very wittily observed that he has a Dickensian name, where the person's name indicates or suggests a feature of his character: Mr. Skimpole of Bleak House, Ebenezer Scrooge, etc.) This is a story about this guy, played by Dinklage, who inherits an abandoned train station in rural New Jersey when his only friend dies.

He wants nothing more than to lead his solitary life, but cannot escape entanglement from pushy neighbors, particularly a young and garrulous snack truck operator played by Bobby Cannavale. They meet a woman trying to sort out her life in the wake of personal strife (Patricia Clarkson). No special effects, unless you count Dinklage's awesomeness - what an expressive face! He's just superb. The script and direction, both by Thomas McCarthy, are just what the doctor ordered. It's just an exceptional, quiet picture, with no cloying tie-up at the end, no smarmy moments. The scenes shot outside had to have been done on location, and they are so beautiful, especially at the lakeside home of the Patricia Clarkson character.

 This movie opened to raves, and won potfuls of awards when it premiered at film festivals all over the place. Check it out and see some really, really excellent acting, and a script to savor.